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United States of America
The United States of America (USA), known as the United States (US) or America, is a federal constitutional republic in North America. America is the most powerful and considered the most free nation on the planet. History The United States, originally 13 colonies of Great Britain for over 200 years, was founded on the Declaration of Independence, declaring freedom and independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776, a year after the war started on April 19, 1775 in Lexington, Massachusetts. In 1781, the British Army, surrounded by land by the American Continental Army and by the French Navy by sea, surrendered. The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, ending the American Revolutionary War with the United States achieving independence. The United States was governed by the Articles of Confederation from 1781 to 1789. Due to the weakness of the government caused by the Articles, they were replaced by the stronger current Constitution in 1789. George Washington, the commanding general of the Continental Army during the war, became the first President of the United States. America would later declare war on Britain again in the War of 1812. In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, doubling the size of the country. In 1841, William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia after only serving a month as President, making his administration the shortest in American history and being the first president to die in office. In the 1840s, America went to war with Mexico. Texas seceded from Mexico and existed as an independent republic before becoming a US state. In 1850, President Zachary Taylor died in office after a year. In 1860, after Republican Abraham Lincoln was elected President, South Carolina seceded from the Union. This led to other states seceding from the Union, forming the Confederate States of America. On April 12, 1861, the Confederate military fired on Fort Sumter, starting the Civil War. The South was eventually crushed by the North and forced back into the Union in 1865, after Lincoln was assassinated. In 1881, President James Garfield, a veteran of the Civil War, was assassinated. In the late 1890s, America went to war with Spain, and Cuba soon separated from the Spanish Empire. In 1901, President William McKinley was assassinated. During World War I, President Woodrow Wilson managed to keep the US neutral and out of the war. However, prompted by attacks on US citizens by the German Empire (via U-boat attacks on British ocean liners) and German-prompted Mexican rebel attacks on the US borders, the US declared war on Germany in 1917. With American reinforcements the exhausted Allies won the war. President Warren Harding died of disease in 1923. President Franklin Roosevelt keep the US neutral during the first two years of World War II. On December 7, 1941, the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The next day, the US declared war on Japan. On December 10, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy declared war on the US, who declared war on them. The US won against the three Axis countries. In August 1945, the US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, the only time nuclear weapons were used in war. On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The United States also fought in undeclared wars in Korea and Vietnam to stop communism from spreading. While the US saved South Korea from being overrun by the North, the US was forced to pull out of Vietnam by the demand of American citizens. The US invaded Iraq twice, once in 1991 after Iraq invaded Kuwait and again in 2003 simply for oil. Afghanistan was also invaded and the Taliban was overthrown. On September 11, 2001, the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda hijacked four American airliners. Two were flown into the World Trade Center, another hit the Pentagon. The fourth was to crash into Washington DC but crashed after the passengers attempted to take down the hijackers. 2,996 lives were lost and the Twin Towers were destroyed. The armed forces of the United States consist of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. Agencies *List of US Government agencies Presidents *1) George Washington **1789 - 1797 *9) William Henry Harrison **1841 - 1841 *12) Zachary Taylor **1849 - 1850 *16) Abraham Lincoln **1861 - 1865 *20) James A. Garfield **1881 - 1881 *25) William McKinley **1897 - 1901 *28) Woodrow Wilson **1913 - 1921 *29) Warren G. Harding **1921 - 1923 *32) Franklin D. Roosevelt **1933 - 1945 *35) John F. Kennedy **1961 - 1963 *36) Lyndon B. Johnson **1963 - 1969 *37) Richard Nixon **1969 - 1974 *43) George W. Bush **2001 - 2009 *44) Barack Obama **2009 - 2017 *45) Donald Trump **2017 - Present States = original 13 colonies/state *Alabama *Alaska *Arizona *Arkansas *California *Colorado *Connecticut *Delaware *Florida *Georgia *Hawaii *Idaho *Illinois *Indiana *Iowa *Kansas *Kentucky *Louisiana *Maine *Maryland *Massachusetts *Michigan *Minnesota *Mississippi *Missouri *Montana *Nebraska *Nevada *New Hampshire *New Jersey *New Mexico *New York *North Carolina *North Dakota *Ohio *Oklahoma *Oregon *Pennsylvania *Rhode Island *South Carolina *South Dakota *Tennessee *Texas *Utah *Vermont *Virginia *Washington *West Virginia *Wisconsin *Wyoming Territories *Puerto Rico Category:Countries